Xt60 connector convention

[Geoff S]

I'm seriously considering having a solderfest and changing over to XT60 flight pack connectors from the 4mm bullets I've been using for years. I don't want to end up with my own private convention so can anyone tell me what polarity and gender battery connectors are, please?

I think the polarity is indicated and I'm guessing the female (ie sockets) are on the battery. Annoyingly all the battery pictures at HK have the connectors pointing the wrong way.

Thanks

Geoff

[Dave Hopkin]

Red to the flat side of the XT60, black to the chamfered side

[Rob43]

Hi Geoff
All my stuff is xt60. The polarity is indeed marked on the connectors. The battery should have the male connector, that is the one with the recessed female contacts. Just go to google and select the image option and search "lipo with xt60" and there are plenty of clear images to veryfy.

[Geoff S]

Thanks to you both. I'd hate to spend a day soldering and then find my batteries were different from everyone else's.

Rob: I've been involved with electrical connectors all my long life but the concept of what constitutes 'male' and 'female' seems to have changed. How can a connector be described as 'male' when it clearly has sockets? Not your fault btw because I've seen similar descriptions applied to servo plugs which to my mind are definitely 'female' and the connectors on receivers are 'male'.

At least you do clarify that the male connector has sockets

Thanks again. I'll get the big 120 watt soldering iron warmed up.

Geoff

[Andy Meade]

When I draw up looms at work, we always specify a PLUG or SOCKET, and connector type. The pins (male or female) inside just end up whatever they should be for whatever connector is specified.

[Keith Berriman]

Just a reminder how about the charger ends

[Bob Cotsford]

Geoff, gender in RC seems to be defined by the housing - servos have plugs with female contacts and receivers have sockets with masculine pins. Devious (-ant?) lot us modellers.

[Rob43]

Hi Geoff
The male and female denotation is with reference to body of the connectors, the pins themselves in this case happen to be female in the male connector bodyand the pins are male in the female connector body. I see exactly where the confusion comes from however!

[Engine Doctor]

Descriptions can nearly always be misconstrued ,but a picture is worth a thousand words . Unless of course its a black and white pic . Remember the famous snooker gaff " for those of you watching in black and white the green ball is behind the red ball "?

[Cuban8]

Don't intend to 'teach my granny to suck eggs' but make sure that the mating half of the XT60 is fully home when soldering. All to easy to cause misalignment of the the pins if things inadvertently get a bit too hot for the casings during soldering.

[Braddock, VC]

I'm in the midst of this process right now (well as soon as my tax return is done) I have one query Geoff, 120 watts? are you trying to warm the workshop?

I have a cheap maplins 40W and it does them pdq with lead free solder.

[Ian Southerton 1]

I work in the motor industry and even with all the electronics we use in testing cars, we go by the pin.

So a male connector is a pin. Dave's battery connections are female sockets!!

[Geoff S]

I've had my 120 watt Henley Solon soldering iron since Big Ben was wrist watch and it works well for soldering 4mm bullet connectors because its mass is large enough for the temperature to remain constant. It was big enough to repair vintage motor cycle fuel tanks (specifically my 1932 Scott).

I used to us my 60 watt (IIRC) Weller temperature controlled iron with a 700 deg F bit but it wasn't quite as good and it's now gone to the workshop in the sky. I may try my newish Precision Gold 60 watt temperature controlled iron on the XT60s because of the plastic casing which isn't a problem with 4mm bullets.

And I wouldn't let lead-free solder anywhere near any electrical connections I solder. It's 60/40 lead/tin all the way for me.

Geoff

[Martin Whybrow]

The general terminology is that a plug has a body that fits into a socket; plugs and sockets can both have male pins or female receptacles.

[MattyB]

Posted by Geoff Sleath on 18/01/2016 12:59:16:

I've had my 120 watt Henley Solon soldering iron since Big Ben was wrist watch and it works well for soldering 4mm bullet connectors because its mass is large enough for the temperature to remain constant. It was big enough to repair vintage motor cycle fuel tanks (specifically my 1932 Scott).

I used to us my 60 watt (IIRC) Weller temperature controlled iron with a 700 deg F bit but it wasn't quite as good and it's now gone to the workshop in the sky. I may try my newish Precision Gold 60 watt temperature controlled iron on the XT60s because of the plastic casing which isn't a problem with 4mm bullets.

Yes, that is very sensible - using a 120W iron on any plastic housed connector is a receipe for a mangled job. I always use my temp controlled 60W now, and whichever connector I am doing (Deans or XT60) I always plug it into the other half whilst soldering, that way it is much harder to distort the case during the job.

Edited By MattyB on 18/01/2016 17:33:34

[Phil Green]

I'm from Geoff's era when engineering apprentices were taught that the pins defined the gender regardless of how the housings fitted together - ie your receiver has plugs and your servos have sockets!

This really was accepted practise throughout my engineering life, but I accept that standards do change... so I wonder what was the reason for this new-fangled 'gender-reassignment', was it done to match American or Japanese standards I wonder?

Cheers
Phil

[Geoff S]

It must be an age thing, Phil. I was beginning to wonder if I imagined a time when a plug had pins and sockets had ... err ... sockets. You're probably right that it's a US disease that's spread across the Atlantic, though it could have originated across the Pacific, I guess. It does make life complicated, though.

Of course it goes without saying that we are right

Anyway, I received a batch of XT60 connectors this morning but I'm putting off the solder-fest until the bench is clear. Am I right that they are rated at 60 amps continuous current? Not that I'm likely to draw that much for more than a few seconds - 30 at most and that rarely.

They seem to very hard to pull apart. One of the reasons for my change is that you can get connectors that fit in a mount that can be fixed in a convenient place so that I could both fit and remove one handed or perhaps have an easy to make arming plug. They seem to need less space as well.

Geoff

[MattyB]

A high amp rated "handed" connector that can be pulled apart easily with one hand is probably something that would make you fairly well off if you could invent it Geoff! Some are better than others in the respect of ease of unplugging, but in reality they are always going to be fairly stiff - to make good contact and ensure they can't vibrate apart in flight a tight fit is desirable.

[Dave Bran]

Nothing like a good connector gender discussion to get the pulses racing, Eh?

I liked the way HobbyKing started using XT60 stating that it was time for a single standard across all sizes. They even started hanging XT60's on 800mAH packs, which looked and was ridiculously bulky.

Then within months brought out the XT30..................................... GGGRRRRRRRRR

[Martyn Johnston]

As Martin said above "... a plug has a body that fits into a socket; plugs and sockets can both have male pins or female receptacles."

i.e the 'connector' itself is either male or female. The housing it sits in is a separate issue.

[Geoff S]

Well, Dave, whatever connector porn that turns you on

MattyB: What I meant was that if one side of the connector is firmly attached to the fuselage then the other other half can be plugged in one handed whilst holding the model with the other. There seem to be a bracket with an XT60 connector on the HK web site which could be used to the esc for main battery connection or, perhaps, as a connector for an arming plug.

A connector doesn't need to have a high insertion force to be reliable. You can have a clip which both secures and tightens it. Multipin connectors often work like that - eg processor sockets on PC mother boards or aircraft grade connectors (Canon) but they tend to be expensive, probably too much so for our LiPo plugs.

Geoff

[Pete B]

The grip does vary from plug to plug. I've found that the male part, the pins being split four ways, can be gently tweaked with needle-nose pliers to ease the tightness - it can make a big difference.

Pete

[PatMc]

Geoff, I use the Easy Off system for XT 60s. A bit tight for space in one or two models but it's been a a great help to me as I have difficulty gripping small objects, especially in cold conditions, due to arthritis in my hands.

For anyone thinking of buying this for the extra couple of £ it's worth adding a pack of adaptors to the order. Annoyingly they're are not sold from UK or Europe warehouses.

[Geoff S]

That's annoying, Pat. I've just completed an order form the HK International warehouse for a Frsky non-EU receiver and was looking for something extra to make up the order. Those adapters and the tool look to be the ideal solution for those of us who find gripping small connectors not as easy as formerly. I'll definitely get some on my next order, thanks for the heads-up.

Geoff

[MattyB]

Posted by Dave Bran on 21/01/2016 07:02:34:

Nothing like a good connector gender discussion to get the pulses racing, Eh?

I liked the way HobbyKing started using XT60 stating that it was time for a single standard across all sizes. They even started hanging XT60's on 800mAH packs, which looked and was ridiculously bulky.

Then within months brought out the XT30..................................... GGGRRRRRRRRR

Didn't even know XT30s existed, but they do look rather good - I'm not a fan of the JSTs, they have rubbish current carrying capacity.